Flu drug to be rationed in Australia

The West Australian

Tuesday, 11 August 2009 6:04PM

Tamiflu, used to treat the potentially deadly swine flu, will be rationed in Australia, after a rush on the anti-viral drug.

Roche will supply Tamiflu to hospitals for the treatment of confirmed cases of influenza. GPs will have to contact the company directly and more stock for wholesalers and pharmacies will be made available in the future, Health Minister Nicola Roxon said today.

About 10,000 Tamiflu courses are usually sold in an entire flu season.

More than 120,000 courses have been sold in the last week.

"This will help tackle the issue that we fear some people are stockpiling individually these anti-virals when they have no symptoms," Ms Roxon said.

"A rush on these pills and capsules if you don't need them does put at risk treatments being available for people that do need them."

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has extended the shelf-life for Tamiflu capsules from five years to seven.

The Government will return about 2.6 million courses from the national stockpile that it purchased from Roche, which the company will now re-sell to the private market.

The stockpile will then be replenished with new stocks of Tamiflu.

New stocks of Tamiflu will start coming onto the market in the next few weeks.

"It's anticipated that this will provide 20,000 courses of Tamiflu per week," Ms Roxon said.

TGA principal medical adviser Ruth Lopert said people who already had Tamiflu should abide by the existing expiry date, as it may not have been stored correctly.

She said manufacturers seeking approval to extend the shelf-life of a drug was a routine process which the TGA dealt with about 50 times a year.

About 454 people have been tested for swine flu in Australia, with 430 cleared.

All those tested in WA were cleared, while 24 people, 19 in New South Wales, three in South Australia, and one in each Tasmania and Queensland - are awaiting results.

Eight Australians living overseas either have confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu.

Three Australians living in Britain have tested positive for swine flu.

Four Australians, three from Victoria and one from Queensland, have been quarantined as part of a group of 300 people in a Hong Kong hotel after a Mexican tourist staying there tested positive to swine flu.

They will remain in quarantine until Friday.

An Australian man in Miami was also quarantined on Sunday. He will remain in quarantine for five days in a hotel.

The World Health Organisation has raised its tally of confirmed human cases of swine flu to 1124 from the previous figure of 1025.

The US has 286 cases and one death and Mexico has reported 590 cases and 25 deaths.

According to the latest figures today - Canada has 140 cases, Spain has 54, Britain has 18, Germany has eight, New Zealand has six, France and Israel have four each, Italy and El Salvador have two each. Austria, China, Hong Kong, Costa Rica, Colombia, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Korea and Switzerland have one each.